If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Amar'e didn't sign with the Knicks to be with Mike D'Antoni. He signed with the Knicks because we were the only team that was willing to give him 5 years guaranteed money. His first preference was to stay in Phoenix, but they only offered 3 years guaranteed. The Knicks offered him the money for 2 reasons: #1 to have an attractive piece to lure Lebron, and #2 to make sure we didn't get completely shut out of the free agent sweepstakes in 2010.

Melo is a SELFISH high scoring player, who wants to call all the shots on offense, but cant play a lick of defense as a screenin-defender.
Melo didnt like the idea of Billups callin all the shots in Denver, and teammates putting Billups first over him so Melo refuse to resign with Denver for the same amount of money the Knicks gave him.

I didnt give Marbury any slack ....
I went to alot of Marbury High School games, and will always be a big-fan of Marbury .. However .. The day Marbury became a Knicks, I bashed Marbury from sun-up to sun-down.
My baby sister is still close friends with Marbury sister .. but that does not change Marbury selfish personality on the court with his teammates.

Still think Stat, Melo and Tyson cannot play together for extended periods of time, But I would like to give Woodson a few games to see if he could somehow get those 3 to mesh on the court together. This is more than just a Stat/Melo dilemma. You add Tyson to the mix it just makes for a corky and awkward mix

Stoudemire will definitely add a dimension to our offence. Considering his past chemistry with Felton, the Knicks should be covered with regards to the offensive options they have. Whether it's a Felton-STAT pick 'n roll, or an Anthony ISO; perhaps even JR for three, this is a formidable force when attacking. I'm not worried about the chemistry as we now have three very clever players who can run the floor. Last year's main issue was that Toney Douglas initially played the point, and was later replaced by Jeremy Lin who -although a slight upgrade- was never good enough to utilise the players this team has. We now have proper PG's and we can expect far better results when attacking.

Good points. Basically a player like STAT is only as good as the guards feeding him. Creating off the dribble, although tried many times, is just not his thing. This results in something negative more so than positive. I agree Felt/Kidd/Prig trio will help put him in to better positions to succeed.

Originally Posted by YuvalNYC

We need STAT to come off the bench with JR, Novak,Brewer/Shump and Camby/Wallace

Best team in the NBA.

You don't pay $100Mil to a bench player. Sorry, he has to be a starter until he proves he cankt be.

Originally Posted by Crazy⑧s

Chandler runs the P&R (in terms of setting picks and rolling) much better than Amar'e does. And, as we all know, finishes OOPs better than the vast majority of 5s in the game. Ray's better off in a 2 man P&D off the P&R with Tyson. STAT's one advantage over Tyson through both of their entire, complete games is his range.....if he brings that in to the offence with consistency and execution, along with a legit triple threat individual game, then we've got something to add to the argument. Last year's efforts from range didn't exactly make a boast for his form from 15-18 feet out.

I have to disagree with this. As good as TC is, STAT was known as one of the best p&r finishers of our day. That's partly due to his speed, explosiveness, and ability to draw ouls and finish. I believe he led the league in and-1's.

But that's just it... does he still have what it takes to be successful? His speed and explosiveness? Well to be honest he probably has diminished, but he has expanded his game to adapt.

I see how we click, and I see the need for some more scring in the post/at the basket with a big. TC is not that dude. And Melo cannot do that all by himself, or he will get banged up. I see a quasi-need/opportunity for STAT to fit in.

I imagine what a team like the HEAT would think, doubling Melo to get the ball out his hands, only to see him hit:

- a cutting STAT
-AN OPEN Smith/Novak/or Kidd

And I see them struggling to match our size with waves of astute bigs coming at them. You can never have too much size... no homo.

Whoever says Tyson is a better PnR option than STAT has to reanalyze himself. You are basing your opinions on last year. Come on, the man got 100M for being the best PnR PF in the league. Yes, he has let us down a lot this past year. But all of us know that we aren't winning the championship without Amare. Melo at the 4 all season and the playoffs? Melo might not even make it to the playoffs if he plays the 4 all season. Did anyone see him play against a big body in Glen Davis? He looked like a kid going against a bully. No offense though. It's just that I saw him playing bad defense when Davis was setting a pick. What do you think will happen when the playoffs come when he faces against bigger PFs. He's definitely gonna tire out. If we want a championship this year, Woodson NEEDS to make it click with tyson, stat and melo on the floor or else we might not even make it past the second round

yeah well be stronger Offensively... but what about the defense? what about the floor spacing? what about the ball movement? what about the chemistry? I don't want to say Amare will mess everything up but...

Bringing Amare off the bench makes a ton of more sense and makes this team a POWER HOUSE.

Im one who believes Chandler is a better pick n roll player then Stat. I dont know what happened with Amarknee. He used to be one of the best but he started setting half ass picks, maybe because hes scared now of players running into him. The PG should at least brush arms with the player thats setting the pick so the defender runs right into the pick.

Watching Woody coach this team, I feel he will fit Amare in the best way for this team, he necessarily will not maximize Amare, but fit him in as a puzzle piece. I can see Woody stagger Melo and Amare's time on the court if they cannot mesh well from the onset. We'll have a lull in offense when Melo needs a blow, JR's hot streak won't last all season, this is where Amare will fit in, he'll pick up the offensive slack behind Melo, making JR our 3rd option.

Chandler runs the P&R (in terms of setting picks and rolling) much better than Amar'e does. And, as we all know, finishes OOPs better than the vast majority of 5s in the game. Ray's better off in a 2 man P&D off the P&R with Tyson. STAT's one advantage over Tyson through both of their entire, complete games is his range.....if he brings that in to the offence with consistency and execution, along with a legit triple threat individual game, then we've got something to add to the argument. Last year's efforts from range didn't exactly make a boast for his form from 15-18 feet out.

Ray was putting all-star numbers up WITH stat running a pick and roll, I don't see how you can say that chandler runs it better when we have all see them run the P&R together and really click well. Amare is also a much better finisher than Tyson but thats obvious. What really is important right now is his defensive effort. I remember with Felton, Amare was getting a few blocks each game and he was really easing into. I'm not sure tho.

Amar'e Stoudemire doesn't have the physical stamina to play Mike Woodson defense for a long period of time. Last season he missed a good amount of games after playing defense for the first time in his career. He is far from the offensive player that he was 2 years ago and will continue to decline. Guys like him, Tracy Mcgrady, and Chris Webber are only great for about 7 to 9 years and become a shell of their former self after their bodies are worn down. I see Amar'e as being a player that will average about 15 PPG and 8 RPG when he plays.

Stat plays weak,. take him out...Be strick with Stat. Force him to play within himself and play "D"...That and 22 min a game...I'd like to see them mix it up with him starting sometimes and 6th man other times

yeah well be stronger Offensively... but what about the defense? what about the floor spacing? what about the ball movement? what about the chemistry? I don't want to say Amare will mess everything up but...

Bringing Amare off the bench makes a ton of more sense and makes this team a POWER HOUSE.

Starters

Felton
Kidd
Brewer
Melo
Chandler

Bench

Prigioni
Jr smith
Novak
Amare
Wallace

When shump returns

I'm going: Felt, Shump, Melo, STAT, TC

with Kidd, JR, Brewer/Novak (depending on what's needed; D or O), Sheed, Camby... off the bench.

I see Kidd and Brewer as temporary in the Starting line-up, replaced by STAT and Shump. This gives more balance to both line-ups while allowing coach to mix and match when necessary.

Originally Posted by elcol

Ray was putting all-star numbers up WITH stat running a pick and roll, I don't see how you can say that chandler runs it better when we have all see them run the P&R together and really click well. Amare is also a much better finisher than Tyson but thats obvious. What really is important right now is his defensive effort. I remember with Felton, Amare was getting a few blocks each game and he was really easing into. I'm not sure tho.

No doubt all of our guards will find him, especially if he's moving toward the basket. Again Brewer is a nice substitute, but STAT gives us more size and drawing fouls.

Originally Posted by knicksin60

Amar'e Stoudemire doesn't have the physical stamina to play Mike Woodson defense for a long period of time. Last season he missed a good amount of games after playing defense for the first time in his career. He is far from the offensive player that he was 2 years ago and will continue to decline. Guys like him, Tracy Mcgrady, and Chris Webber are only great for about 7 to 9 years and become a shell of their former self after their bodies are worn down. I see Amar'e as being a player that will average about 15 PPG and 8 RPG when he plays.

With all the injuries considered, I'd say STAT is probably the best physically gifted PF in the East. If he's lost it for whatever reason, so be it. But I haven't seen that yet.

I've seen him blow out a back dunking at an inopportune time.

I've seen him bulk up looking to mix it up but losing some speed and quickness. He learned his lesson and slimmed down.

The hand... like the eye freak accident.

The "bakers knee" was a cyst found after he banged knees in practice and got an MRI. That may be a blessing in disguise. The cyst has ruptured and was a result of his micro-fracture surgery.

The intent for that surgery is to stimulate growth of the meniscus. Roy and those unsuccessful showed little regeneration thus causing bone on bone pain and swelling after play.

STAT has not experienced that to my knowledge, therefore until that is the case, the knee should be stable. In fact it's quite possible that scar tissue and loose debris that can cause discomfort have been removed and he just needs to heal up. After that his knee could be better than it has it years.

I'd like to see Stat play short, but hard stretches for a while. Let him play hard, but keep his minutes down. There should be a rule that if Stat plays matador defense or stands around and stares at a guy get an offensive rebound, he should be pulled immediately.

Am I the only one who is more excited about Shumpert coming back? I wanna see if he developed that jumper any.

Mike D'Antoni as our coach really warped a lot of Knicks fan's minds, by not knowing how to use Amar'e and Melo in the proper way. Just give Woodson a chance to make them work, and then sit back and enjoy. It will be a beautiful thing.

THIS!
What has gone wrong so far?
Is Jason Kidd & Sheed to old to give meaninful minutes?
Is Felton badly overweight?
Is Melo still a ballstopper who won't play D?
Is JR Smith still a chucker who has shot us out of games?

All of the above questions have been answered in positive fashion by Woodson & the Knicks. He has shown he is very crafty and making things work. Woodson won't sit back and let the pairing fail, he will improvise and if it doesn't work STAT will come off the bench.